


Promises Kept

by d0g-bless (d0gbless)



Series: Black/Bird: Shidge Week 2016 [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Dinner, F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, First Meeting, Fluff, Shidge Week 2016, Shidge Week 2016: Katie Holt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-20
Updated: 2016-09-20
Packaged: 2018-08-16 10:21:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8098420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/d0gbless/pseuds/d0g-bless
Summary: “Katherine, one more.”“One more?” she repeated. “It’s just you, me, Matt, and Dad, right?”Mrs. Holt shook her head. “No, we have a guest tonight. Your brother’s friend.”(Shidge Week 2016, Day 2: Katie Holt.)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Shidge Week 2016, Day 2: Katie Holt.

“Katherine, come help me set the table!” Mrs. Holt hollered. Her daughter had been up in her room, tinkering with gadgets for far too long. She could hear Katherine groan and shuffle to open her creaky door.

Her room was painted lavender—a stark contrast with all of the gears and electronics scattered on her floor and work desk. (More of a work bench, really.) She made her way down the stairs. “Katherine, what are you wearing?”

She looked down. “Um… a t-shirt and jeans?” Sure, the jeans were ripped to shreds, but they were supposed to look that way.

Mrs. Holt sighed. “Help me set the table and change into something more… proper.”

“Okay,” she said. She followed her mother into the kitchen. Her arms could barely reach the cupboard, so she had to use a step stool. Matt had helped her make it so that it could be pushed into the cabinetry and away from people’s feet. (Her father had tripped over a misplaced stool far too many times…)

“Not those dishes, Katherine. The fine china—within reach.”

She kicked the stool into the cabinet. (She’d just have to pull it out again if she needed it later.) The Holts’ fine china—which weren’t even _really_ china; essentially they were the same plates with more artistic detail—was stored in a cupboard at a much more reasonable height.

_You try to grab one dish that’s too high up, and suddenly everyone won’t let you forget it._

She grabbed four plates.

“Katherine, one more.”

“One more?” she repeated. “It’s just you, me, Matt, and Dad, right?”

Mrs. Holt shook her head. “No, we have a guest tonight. Your brother’s friend.”

She made a noise caught somewhere between a laugh and scoff. “So why all this effort for Matt’s friend?”

Before Mrs. Holt could reprimand her daughter for her rudeness, Commander Sam Holt entered the house. “I’m home!”

Her face lit up with sheer joy. “Dad!” She went in for a hug.

Sam ruffled her hair—a long, tangled mess of brown locks. “Hey, kiddo! How was school today?”

Boring. So boring. “It was fun! And work?” Her golden eyes glimmered with interest.

“Well, it just so happens that Matt and I have been selected to go on the Kerboros Mission.”

“What?”

Mrs. Holt chuckled softly in the background. “Congrats, dear.” She walked over and planted a kiss on her husband’s cheek.

“Mom, you knew? You know and didn’t tell me?”

Quick footsteps thudded down the stairs—wait, a pair of footsteps. One was heavier than the other’s. The lighter steps she recognized as Matt’s.

Sam grinned. “Matt, Takashi! There’s my crew!”

“Takashi? Who’s that?”

Her question was answered when a tall young man with black hair and grey eyes stood at the base of the stairs—a few footsteps ahead of Matt. “Matt, is this your little sister?”

“Yup, that’s Katherine,” Matt confirmed. “You think I’m good at mechanics and tech? Think again.”

She blushed at her brother’s compliment—she normally wasn’t this shy. But maybe it had to do with the presence of Takashi.

He offered his hand. “Shiro. It’s nice to finally meet you, Katherine.”

She slipped her hand into his and shook it. She couldn’t help but notice he had a tight, firm grip. Like he wasn’t about to let her go anytime soon. When he broke off the handshake, she wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed. “Katie. Call me Katie.”

 “Mom, is it okay if Shiro stays for dinner?” Matt asked.

“ _Katie_ and I already set up the table for five. We were expecting him to stay.”

 _Dinner?_ Katie thought. _How about forever?_

Still, she was happy just to spend an evening eating dinner and getting to know Shiro. Learning about how he and Matt met, preparation plans before the Kerboros mission. And of course, realizing he had one of the warmest, kindest smiles.

He stayed until they’d finished washing the dishes. Katie had never liked procrastinating—but now that was all she wanted to do. Anything to ensure he’d stay longer. She did dishes slowly and deliberately. Nevertheless, they got done.

“Well, I’d better go. Nice meeting all of you.” He looked at Katie as he said this—not to Mrs. Holt or anyone else. Just Katie. “I need to get going.”

Katie cupped her hands around her mouth as he walked out of the door: “Come back soon, okay?”

He saluted Katie. “Yes, ma’am.”

“I mean it.”

“I promise I’ll be back."

* * *

 

Pidge couldn't believe it. The stream quality might have been lower than she would have liked, but that was Shiro. The same guy who came to visit her family a couple years ago. And Shiro was still alive. But where was the rest of the crew?

Shiro had kept his promise. But she'd promised herself to find her family.

If she and Shiro shared one thing in common it was that they never broke their promises.


End file.
